1895.1 S3 



In the Annals ocelhifeUa is compared wltli costella and maculi- 

 ferella, while in the Annual the comparison is made to instahilella and 

 obsolcfella. 'No one acquainted with these species could doubt that 

 the comparison with costella and maculiferella was made at an earlier 

 date than the comparison with instahilella and ohsoletella, which are 

 very closely allied to ocellatella. 



It seems, therefore, that Stainton's original description was taken 

 from a Madeiran specimen, collected at Porto Santo, and his type 

 should be the specimen in the Wollaston collection in the British 

 Museum, labelled " XXIII." 



So far, everything has favoured the contention that the type was 

 from Madeira, and not from Cornwall, but we have now to deal with 

 a curious complication. 



The description in the Annual was published before that in the 

 Annals ! 



Stainton's paper, Kxxn. and Mag. N. H. (3 s.). Ill, 209-14, was 

 published in March, 1859. The Entomologist's Annual for 1859 is 

 dated at the foot of the title " 1859," but in the Ent. Wk. Int., V, 88 

 (1858), is a notice that the Annual for 1859 was published December 

 11th, 1858 ! 



Stainton, in his Summary of Observations on Tineina, in the 

 volumes of the Annual, writes (Ent. Ann., 1874, 10) : " G. ocellatella, 

 Stainton, 1859, 151, n. sp., described ; occurrence at the Lizard, in 

 Cornwall, Y." 



It would be difficult to deal with the question, Which is Stainton's 

 type of ocellatella ? in a way that would satisfy every one, should the 

 Madeiran and Cornish insects be eventually proved to be distinct, but 

 fortunately this is not necessary. 



The first reference to the species, now known as ocellatella, with 

 which I am acquainted, occurs in a short editorial note (Ent. Wk. Int., 

 IV, 128 [17, YII, 18581, presumably by Stainton), entitled, "Treasures 

 in Cornwall," where we read, "Mr. Boyd has spent a few weeks in 

 the neighbourhood of the Land's End, and has brought home a number 

 of interesting novelties : not the least curious is a Gclechia, only 

 hitherto detected by Mr. Wollaston, in Madeira." 



The next reference to this species is Boyd, Ent. AVk. Int., IV, 

 143 (31, VII, 1858) : here, under the name Gclechia ocellatella, we 

 find the species fully described, and as this is the earliest ^;Mi/w//p</ 

 description, the species must in future be known as Gclechia ocella- 

 tella, Boyd. 



